Strapped Manatee schools to auction vehicles

Monday

May 13, 2013 at 11:16 PM

By KATY BERGENkaty.bergen@heraldtribune.com

Last to leave the school district building during his first few weeks on the job, Superintendent Rick Mills saw the same scene as he walked to his car each night: A sea of white fleet cars that never seemed to move from the district parking lot and cost the roughly $2,700 in yearly maintenance.

Now, with a deficit so widespread that school officials say they have yet to hone in on an exact figure and revenue from property taxes still up in the air, the School Board will sell off more than 50 fleet cars at bargain prices to raise money quickly.

An auction for the vehicles — the first wave to be sold in a fleet totaling 223 — is tentatively scheduled for June 15 and could generate up to $81,000 for the district's capital fund.

"We're trying to lay the groundwork for not meeting our fund balance," Mills said of the sales. The district will not come close to meeting the $6.7 fund balance required by the state after a multimillion-dollar budget deficit this September, Mills has previously said. It is still uncertain whether the district will break even after initial speculations that there would be a meager $100,000 in reserves by the end of the fiscal year.

Mills said he hopes for a state-commissioned transition team to provide clarity on June 1 when they present an economic recovery plan for the 2013-14 school year, during which the state will monitor school finances.

The cars cleared for sale, ranging from 1988 GMC trucks and vans to a 2002 Van Dodge Grand Caravan, will undoubtedly boost district funds. But by how much is unclear, since many of the vehicles are older models from the 1990s and subject to market prices.

"Our best guess is that sedans and trucks would be up to $1,500," said Todd Henson, director of maintenance and operations.

The extra cash, like the potential $2 million that could be generated by the planned sale of the Checkers-Owen annex and the Instructional Materials Center, would support repair and maintenance costs that might otherwise have to be covered by depleted reserves.

The district made other moves Monday in anticipation of possibly not meeting the fund balance by the end of the fiscal year on July 1. The board voted to extend by one year a $5 million loan to pay off expenses such as the purchase of 37 new school buses acquired in the past three years. The board has rolled the loan once before and will pay $60,000 in interest for extending it again.

Chief Financial Officer Michael Boyer said Friday that the cash generated from vehicle sales and future property sales would help the district pay off this debt.

Also at the meeting: The School Board unanimously approved nepotism and fraternization policies.

Under the new policies, those seeking employment in the district would have to disclose relatives and personal relationships to management. But there would not be an issue with related parties working together in the school district unless those parties were able to supervise, hire or promote each other.

Similarly, if employees become sexually or privately involved with someone they supervise or control, they must report within 48 hours the relationship to their supervisor and the Human Resources department, which must "determine an appropriate resolution" within 90 days.

"What was most telling about the nepotism policy is to find out that we were one of few districts lacking one," Board Chair Karen Carpenter said. Superintendent Mills has said the policies will most likely be retroactive.

"The issue would have to be addressed for everyone," Mills said. "There is no grandfather clause."

The board also approved a Request for Qualifications for a school board attorney to replace John Bowen, who will retire at the end of June. A tentative timeline has a May 31 deadline for responses and an approved contract by June 24.